A law that took effect Wednesday in Texas requires professional sports teams competing within the state to play the country’s national anthem before every game.
The conservative-sponsored “Star Spangled Banner Protection Act” stipulates that sports teams who contract with the Texas government must play the national anthem before athletes begin to play to maintain their financial relationships with the state.
Professional and amateur athletes nationwide have protested police brutality against Black people in the U.S. during the national anthem since first popularized by NFL 49ers former quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick promised to get the bill passed in response to Dallas Maverick’s owner Mark Cuban’s decision to stop playing the ceremonial anthem before the games.
“Sell the franchise & some Texas Patriots will buy it,” Patrick tweeted in February Patrick said in a tweet at the time, calling it a slap in the face to Americans. “We ARE the land of free & the home of the brave.”
Cuban responded to critics, expressing patriotic support for the anthem but saying he heard “the voices of those who feel that the anthem does not represent them.” The NBA later said, “All teams will play the national anthem in keeping with longstanding league policy.”
A verse in the national anthem references slaves. But, more pointedly, it sings of the use and manipulation of Black Americans who joined the British army to fight under the promise of freedom during the War of 1812.
Critics question the constitutionality of the legislature’s attempt to penalize and control free speech.
“Once again, we’re carrying legislation that is openly and aggressively unconstitutional,” Houston Democrat Rep. Gene Wu said about Senate Bill 4.
“It’s very simple. If they do not want to play the national anthem, they don’t take the tax dollars,” said the sponsor of the bill, Texas Rep. Dustin Burrows, a Republican from Lubbock.
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